Humanitarian Award

Corporate Sponsor


South Central CT Chapter

Community Presenter
Nancy Cassella

Adult Good Samaritan Award

Corporate Sponsor



Community Presenter
Brian Andrus

Corporate Presenter
Jon Hitchcock

Jesse Wylie - Hamden

It was on June 25, 2007 just after 3:00 p.m., that athletic trainer Jesse Wylie of Hamden found himself confronted with a life and death situation.

Having finished setting up equipment for the first session of a sports conditioning program he was conducting at the Maloney High School in Meriden, Wylie decided to run a lap around the school property, where he came upon a 15-year-old skateboarder who had just has been struck by a car and was lying on the street badly bleeding. While other witnesses called for help, Wylie removed his T-shirt, balled it up and applied pressure to the armpit, succeeding in slowing the rate of blood loss. When EMTs arrived and were working on the boy, who had sustained two broken legs, a head laceration and a shoulder injury, Wylie continued to control the severe bleeding not giving up even while the boy had seizures.

“The health and welfare of the boy was on my mind,” explains Wylie.  “I felt helpless knowing the boy had everything to lose, but knew I was doing everything I could.”

PHILANTHROPIC Award

Corporate Sponsor


Community Presenter
 Bob Fulton

Corporate Presenter
Warren Brini

Wayne Barneschi - Wallingford

Wayne Barneschi is a man with a passion, a man who cares about others and his community.   His passion is his creation, an event called The Trail of Terror.   His caring is translated to the community through his partnership with the American Red Cross for whom he has conducted the event as a fundraiser each October for the past thirteen years.   And his humanity is exemplified in the relationships that he fosters with the event volunteers, allowing them to grow creatively and responsibly.  Youth, particularly, are provided with an educational, fun environment where they can go after school and during the summer months. They learn discipline and are given the responsibility of developing their own event characters, and in time, are awarded their own scenes.  Barneschi, along with wife Christy, treat these young volunteers like family, attending their games, encouraging them to succeed, inviting them to holiday events. 

Along with his internet business associates, Barneschi works year round to make the Trail the exciting, successful, fun, award winning event that it has become. The event has been recognized by Yankee Magazine and has received the “Outdoor Haunt of the Year” from Fright Magazine.  “I am inspired by all who come together each year who have made the event what it is today,” notes Barneschi.

The Trail of Terror has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Red Cross throughout its thirteen year history, from Wayne’s initial $1,000 donation to this past year’s donation of $100,000 to benefit Red Cross programs and services.  “Since its inception, people’s lives have been uplifted and changed as a result of the awareness and funds this event raises,” recalls veteran Red Cross employee Andrea Balsamo who works to coordinate the event with Barneschi.

According to Red Cross staff, Wayne has proven himself as an extraordinary volunteer who has dedicated himself to raising much needed awareness and funds for the services it provides throughout South Central Connecticut.  He cares deeply about the Red Cross mission and he devotes countless hours and his own resources to create the Trail each year, incorporating new scenes and bigger and better scares to keep its audiences, some traveling from as far as Maine and New Jersey, coming back for more. 

Barneschi’s involvement in helping those in need goes beyond his support of Red Cross, as he also works hard each year with the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life raising thousands for research; with fundraising for Hunter Christian Pageau, a young child diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy; helping a struggling church locally, and physically helping a family to replace its leaking roof. 

Fire Fighter Award

Corporate Sponsor



Community Presenter
Robert Heubner

Corporate Presenter
Mary Pat Healey

Mark Osinski - Orange

A banker by trade, Mark Osinski of Orange also serves his community as a volunteer firefighter with the Orange Volunteer Fire Department.  On November 17, 2007 at 4:03 a.m. Osinski was dispatched to a structure fire. “I responded to the address rather than the firehouse,” explains Osinski, “and arrived first on the scene to find heavy smoke conditions.”

Upon his arrival at the house fire, Osinski also saw a woman leaning out of the bedroom window screaming that she was trapped and needed help. With assistance from other responders beginning to arrive, a ladder from a neighbor was secured which Osinski climbed and successfully pulled the victim from the smoke-filled room. The woman, 82, was unable to climb down ladder on her own so Firefighter Osinski held her as he climbed down the ladder where she was transported to the hospital for treatment.

According to his colleagues of the Orange Volunteer Fire Department, “Firefighter Osinski was instrumental in rescuing the resident from a very dangerous situation, and for his actions on that morning we are nominating him as an American Red Cross hero.”

Youth Good Samaritan Award

Corporate Sponsor



Community Presenter
Matthew McPhail

Corporate Presenter
Karen Gunzenhauser

Jason Prates - East Haven

Jason Prates, 9, of East Haven is described as being involved in community service since he was three years old, when he helped Marilyn Goldstone of American Medical Response with collecting toys and stuffed animals for low income and sick children. Jason used to dress as an elf and, together with Marilyn, deliver these toys to the kids. Jason, who was upset by the loss of his friend Marilyn to cancer last January and has vowed to continue what they had started

Three years ago, when Jason’s grandmother was also diagnosed with cancer, Jason thought of making Christmas cards for the oncology ward at a local hospital. Jason started with making 20 cards and gifts in the first year that grew into 200 this past year.  “I do this in memory of my Amma and my friend Marilyn who both passed away of lung cancer,” explains Jason.  “They taught me to help people, especially those who are less fortunate, even if it is with a smile, the word hello, or a card. Everything I do comes from my heart, and I thank them.”

According to his mom, Lillian Prates, Jason gets to work right after Halloween and creates individual unique cards, each one carrying a different holiday message. All cards have an angel theme due to the love of angels instilled in him by his deceased grandmother.

Jason is an active participant in the Relay for Life of the American Cancer Society, Swim Across America of the American Heart Society, as well as an active fundraiser for several other charities. Prates has been recognized on the news and is a recipient of the Kohl’s “Kids Who Care” award. This past holiday season, Jason helped the Bridgeport Sound Tigers team and staff with card giving and hospital visits, as well as by participating with a special ball game that helped raise money in the fight against breast cancer.

Law Enforcement Award

Corporate Sponsor



Community Presenter
Deanna Picagli

Corporate Presenter
Christine Higgins

Presented in memory of
Officer Robert V. Fumiatti (deceased) - West Haven

It was with great sadness that the community learned of the death of Officer Robert V. Fumiatti on January 10, 2007 as a result of cardio sarcoidosis, an inflammatory disease that can effect any organ of the body.   Officer Fumiatti, a 35-year-old father of three from West Haven, had been in our hearts and prayers as he struggled to heal and return to work after being shot in the head while responding to a call in the New Haven Hill neighborhood on the night of June13, 2002.  While Officer Fumiatti never fully recovered physically following the incident, enduring some upper body paralysis and requiring a pacemaker, his spirit and determination persevered.

Despite his health adversities, Officer Fumiatti adapted and continued his work with the New Haven Police Department.  “It was a proud day when Officer Fumiatti returned to work in January of 2004,” recalls New Haven Police Chief Francisco Ortiz.  Fumiatti began an active campaign to publicly engage and educate youth and ex-convicts about his story and the dangers of drugs and guns.

Medical Award

Corporate Sponsor

Community Presenter
Angela Milani, RN

Corporate Presenter
Ann Hogan

USPS Employees Medical Emergency Response Team - Wallingford
Michael Bradshaw, Gregory Doran, Isabelle Lacy, Paulette Pierce,
Roy Rotnofsky, John Velardi, Frank Vincent, Ron Willoughby

July 21, 2007 is a date etched into the hearts and minds of United States Postal Service employees of the Southern CT Processing Distribution Center in Wallingford. It was on that date that several employees helped saved the life of a colleague.

In the middle of a staff meeting, daily routine suddenly turned to alarm and frenzied activity as Tour 2 Manager of Distribution Operations Dale Mayne’s eyes rolled back in his head and he slipped off his chair onto the floor and into unconsciousness.  Unknown to anyone at the time, Mayne’s heart had entered in to severe arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat that can be fatal within minutes.  Fortunately, fellow manager Roy Rotnofsky recognized Mayne’s condition as life-threatening and called 911 and the facility’s Medical Emergency Response Team (MERT) for help.

Upon receiving the call about Mayne’s condition, the eight individuals in this USPS MERT began arriving within a minute.  All eight have separate jobs in the facility but all volunteered to become trained in American Red Cross life-saving skills so that they could be part of a MERT.  While several immediately administered CPR, the other members of the team rushed to the scene with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).  MERT members prepped the device and began their lifesaving regimen. The AED analyzed Mayne’s heart rhythm and advised delivery of electrical shock.  After administering a powerful jolt, the team still did not observe signs of life so they administered CPR again.  After two more cycles, Mayne coughed then started breathing on his own.  With great relief, the team initiated oxygen therapy for their patient, then monitored his medical status until Emergency Medical Services technicians arrived.

911 Dispatch Award

Corporate Sponsor



Community Presenter
David Denino

Corporate Presenter
Kevin Burke

Frank Meyer - West Haven

Frank Meyer has been a volunteer firefighter since 1991, an EMT since 1997 for the Ansonia ambulance company, and a 911 Police/Fire dispatcher for the city of West Haven since 1999.  He is currently a Captain at the West Haven’s End Volunteers House Company #3.

On December 12, 2006, a phone call from a frantic parent of a 3-year-old that had stopped breathing came in on 911. Meyer, realizing the severity of the situation, calmed the parent down enough to begin relaying instructions.  His actions enabled the parent to clear the child’s airways, start CPR and essentially save the child’s life. “Calming the parents down quickly to assist them in beginning mouth to mouth was all I could think about,” explains Meyer.

According to colleague Sgt. Susan See, “Frank is someone that you can go to for anything.  He is a great example of a citizen … someone who exemplifies public service.  His commitment to the community is boundless.”

Animal Humanitarian Award

Corporate Sponsor



Community Presenter
Yvette Chambers

Corporate Presenter
Paul McCraven

Deborah Baser & Lexie - Hamden

Deborah Baser of Hamden volunteers time in the community bringing hope and healing to those in need along with her beautiful 3-year-old Standard poodle, Lexie.  Lexie serves as a therapy dog having been trained by Paws and Effect in Hamden through a 6-week program offering a qualifying exam for the dogs to serve in the Delta Society.

At the ACES Whitney High School in Hamden, a school for children with physical and developmental disabilities where Baser and Lexie volunteer, the students get much joy out of the pair’s visits especially, as they report, when Lexie “jumps on their laps and gives them wet juicy kisses." 

Baser, a certified physical therapist specializing in pulmonary rehabilitation, supports the ACES therapists during her visits. The fruit of Debbie’s visits was realized this past year when a 17-year-old student who is legally blind and diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy just started to talk. Prior to the pair’s visits, the young man’s vocabulary was very limited, but after each session, he now manages to pronounce full sentences and talks about the visit for days.  Baser also helps the young man walk Lexie throughout the school’s hallways, providing physical therapy, and lets him brush Lexie’s hair, providing occupational therapy. According to school’s staff and families, visits by Baser and Lexie bring out the best in the students, making them “true heroes who have made a significant contribution to the students in the school.”

Ms. Baser also works and volunteers at the Hospital of St. Raphael where she and Lexie visit children and adult patients to aid in their recovery.